Bowling-ball sling.



A. C. ADAMS.

BOWLING BALL SUNG.

APPLlcATsoN man www12. 19:6.

Patented Sept. 26, i916.

BOWLING-BALL sLrNG.

, Specification of LettersiPatent.

rateilted sept. 2c, 191.6.

Application ledjMay 12, 1916. `Seria-11\To.9,6,9.92.

-T 0 all whom t may cof/wem;

Be it `known that I, ALFRED C. ADAMS, citizen of the United States, residing' at Detroit, county of Wayne, State of Michigan, have invented a certain -new `and useful lImprovement in Bowling-Ball Slings, and declare 4the following `to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use the same, lreference Abeing had to the ,accompanying drawings, Vwhich form a part of this specification.

ball as ordinarily played does not leave the hand rolling but upon striking the alley skids, burning and wearing the surface of the latter for a greater or less distance, making periodical repairs in the alley necessary adjacent to the iirst point of contact.

Among the objects therefore of the present invention is to overcome these several objections by providing a device,herein after more particularly described,-adapted to suspend the ball from the back of the bowlers hand, its construction and operation being such that the ball may be easily and accurately bowled by anyone without tiring the player, or injury to the hand or lingers.

Another feature of this invention is that women and children may readily bowl with balls not ordinarily used by them, either on account of their size or the spacing of the gripping holes.

Another feature of the invention is that the ball leaves the sling under a rolling motion, thereby avoiding undue wear upon the alley through skidding.

Another feature of the invention is that a much faster game may be played,-an advantage in alleys operating for commercial purposes.

Other advantages and improvements will hereafter appear.

,In the drawings accompanying this specifcation Figure l is a plan view of the de- ,v-ice, with its lcushion'portion folded back that the gripping handle beneath may be clearly seen. Fig. 2 shows a sling, supporting -a bowling ball beneath the hand of ,the player, as it would appear before the ball is released by the player. Fig. 3 Ashows .the sling released with the ball leaving it.

@Referring -now 'to .the letters of reference placed upon 4 thedrawings A, denotes a `handle preferably formed lof 'metal tubing, in which is 'housed a rope B, having projecting ends secured to lthe ybody portion .(3, Lofthe device. flhe tubing forming the handle is preferably covered with leather as shown.

D, indicates a felt or other pad connected with the body portion C, vby straps cl, d. i

E, designates 4a handle ,secured to the pad l), designed Eto overlap the .palm of the hand.

Projecting from the body portion C, which is shaped -to conforin'with the contour of the ball F,.-,are straps C', C', and to the free ,end `of .thestrap Aare .secured loops G, G, each of which carries an anti-friction `roller g. f

To strengthen the device its edge may be corded and bound by a strip of leather or braid H, if desired.

Having thus indicated the several parts by reference letters the construction and operation of `the device will be readily underf stood.

rlhe ball'F, is first placed upon the body portion of the device. The hand of the bowler is then slipped through its handles A, and E, with the pad D, directly below the knuckles to protect the latter from injury through contact with the ball or from the pressure resulting from gripping the ball, in the sling. The first and second lingers and the third and fourth fingers are then slipped through the loop G, of the respective straps C', C', with the anti-friction rollers g, g, resting upon the fingers as shown in Fig. 2. The ball is thus irmly gripped in the sling and upon a forward swinging movement of the arm, the fingers are allowed to relax, whereupon the pressure of the ball due to its weight and motion forces the loops G, G, from the fingers. The ball, being thus released, starts upon its journey under a spinning or rotary motion as will be readily understood, and thus avoids skidding upon contact with the alley loor, thereby relieving the latter of undue wear. If desired the inside of the sling may be lined with a strip of rubber or like material to increase the clinging action of the sling and to serve to accelerate the rotary movement of the ball.

The device may be made of leather or other material, and if manufactured of fabric may be woven to more closely conform to the shape of the ball.

I-Iaving thus described my invention what I claim is:

l. A device of the character described comprising a flexible member adapted to receive a ball, means for manually holding the device, and coperating means adapted to be gripped to retain the ball in the flexible member until released from manual control.

2. A device of the character described comprising a flexible member adapted to receive and embrace a ball, a handle carried by said member for gripping the device and for supporting the ball, a pad carried by the flexible member adapted to protect the hand from contact with the ball, and means carried by said flexible member adapted to cooperate with the handle to grip and support the ball, said means being adapted to be re- Y leased, whereby the ball may be freed from the flexible member.

3. A device of the character described comprising a body portion conformingto the contour of a ball, a handle secured to one end of the body portion, and straps connected with the body portion adapted to cooperate with the body portion in supporting the ball, said strapstted with means at their free ends to receive the lingers of the player. Y

4. A device of the character` described comprising a body portion adapted to receive and support a ball, a handle fitted to one end of the body portion, straps connected with the opposite end of the body por tion, loops secured to the free ends of the straps to receive the lingers of the player,

anti-friction rollers carried by the loops,

and a pad carried by the body portion adapted to protect the hand from contact with the ball.

5. A device of the character described comprising a body Aportion adapted to receive a ball, a handle fitted to the body portion, a pad carried by the bodyfportion to protect the back of the hand, a strap` carried by the pad adapted to embrace the hand to secure the pad against displacement, straps secured to the body portion, and anti-friction rollers carried by the free ends of the straps.

In testimony whereof, I sign this speci.

cation in the presence of two witnesses.

ALFRED C. ADAMS. Witnesses:

S. E. THOMAS, WAYNE S. THOMAS.

Copies of this patent may 'ne obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patenti,

' Washington, D. C. 

